My mother is a liberal, and she puts out a flag. I agree with the sentiment that patriotism is good, but too much patriotism can lead to bad things. After all, during WWII the Germans and the Japanese were all extremely patriotic, and look at the crimes commited in the names of those countries. Patriotism has to be earned.
I disagree. The Germans were evil, and practically admitted it. The Japanese less so, but their tactics were quite evil. I wouldn't say patriotism had anything to do with it.
No, the Nazis were evil. The Germans, meaning the citizens, were manipulated by those evil people. Anyone can be manipulated to do evil, you and me included(you'd be surprised how easy it is if you know how, look up the experiments of Stanley Milgram, a bit of authority can go a long way in getting people to do what you want). Germany was recovering from an extreme economic depression, and the Nazis were helping get the country out of said depression(Before the war, Hitler was named Man of the Year by Time). They encouraged patriotism and pride in Germany. In other words, it was the perfect conditions to encourage blind obedience in the masses.
The Japanese - they believed their emporer was a living God and that they could gain great honor for their families by dying in battle for their emperor and their country. That's how great their patriotism was. Think of them as the suicide bombers of the day, who blindly follow terrorist leaders who claim to follow the word of Allah(who, to them, is the ultimate authority).
